Super Shady Things In Oculus Rift's Terms of Service

Megalith

Megalith

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I guess this is par for the course for a company owned by Facebook.

Oculus can collect information about how you move and how you’re shaped. The Facebook-owned company can use your location and log your activity, and it can even do so automatically. And on a related note, given that Facebook owns Oculus, it’s not surprising that the Terms of Service also include language that allows the company to monetize your experience: that is, after all, what the Facebook platform has been historically extremely good at.
 
Look, if you read that exact same article except replaced the word Oculus with Steam, it wouldn't seem so bad all the sudden.

Steam knows what you play, it knows when you play it, it stores your save games and achievements in a cloud and it tries to sell you things based on various triggers. The only way this is possible is if they are "tracking" you.

The only one that really sounded shady (on the surface) was
By submitting User Content through the Services, you grant Oculus a worldwide, irrevocable, perpetual (i.e. lasting forever), non-exclusive, transferable, royalty-free and fully sublicensable (i.e. we can grant this right to others) right to use, copy, display, store, adapt, publicly perform and distribute such User Content in connection with the Services. You irrevocably consent to any and all acts or omissions by us or persons authorized by us that may infringe any moral right (or analogous right) in your User Content.
Click to expand...

But there is that catch "through the Services", which means there is some type of service that will probably act as a hub or community and allow people users and developers to interact. It does not mean that anyone who makes a program that uses the Rift automatically surrenders all rights to Oculus. You can still sell your games, you can still sell your 3D medical software. Oculus/Facebook/Zuckerberg is not going to come take it from you.

And even then, this could be like an Xbox Live thing. Where you submit a game to Xbox Live and you sell it, but Microsoft reserves the right to give it away for free for a month for Gold Games. If you don't like that, then don't sell it on Live Marketplace.
 
I'm thinking it might be a good idea to go back and actually read the terms of service included with the Samsung Gear VR, since it directly uses Oculus technology. I'm not a facebook user, I have no interest in facebook. I'm tempted to join for the simple fact that my motorcycle track day organization uses FB and it would be nice to keep in touch with the other riders, but I just can't bring myself to use it.
 
I'm so going off Rift.
Have been considering ordering the Vive because I'm likely to not go forward with payment.
That was for other reasons, but Faceblock needs implementing too.
 
"Matt Averages timeline: Watching hot nurses going wild in virtual 3D" :facepalm:
 
qZi2d.jpg
 
I imagine the movement data is useful for improving the experience. I wouldn't think twice about sharing it.
 
westrock2000 said:
Steam knows what you play, it knows when you play it, it stores your save games and achievements in a cloud and it tries to sell you things based on various triggers.
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"tries to sell you things" - you mean like games?

No offense but Facebook's data collection policy is world's apartment from Valves, and trying to draw a parallel is a bit of a stretch.
 
What did you expect from a company who's business model is to spy on you in ways that make anything the NSA or FBI or CIA does seem like rank amateurs, then sell the collected data to as many folks as are willing to pay for it?
 
Lith1um said:
I'm thinking it might be a good idea to go back and actually read the terms of service included with the Samsung Gear VR, since it directly uses Oculus technology. I'm not a facebook user, I have no interest in facebook. I'm tempted to join for the simple fact that my motorcycle track day organization uses FB and it would be nice to keep in touch with the other riders, but I just can't bring myself to use it.
Click to expand...

Don't succumb to the dark side. Facebook is the path to the dark side, Facebook leads to depression, depression time leads to hate, hate leads to suffering.
 
TOS agreements should all just say "We own every single thing regarding this product and anything you think is on your end too, fuck you users, you have no rights or privacy here, none" to make them shorter and more easily understood by the masses.

Then again them making these TOS's so long and complex that 99.9% of people never actually read through them is their goal to begin with.
 
I am going to wear a weighted clown suit while using mine and direct all traffic through my local library just so I can stay off the grid. :blackalien:
 
Buying the rift is utterly pointless

You're buying basically an expensive head mounted monitor, except it will only allow you to play back content they approve of

Its like buying Sony headphones that will only play Sony BMG songs

I knew the sec Oculus went to facebook it would stop being open source, and today's the day
 
DPI said:
"tries to sell you things" - you mean like games?

No offense but Facebook's data collection policy is world's apartment from Valves, and trying to draw a parallel is a bit of a stretch.
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From the aspect of using your data to provide a service, there is not much difference. What they do with the data may be different, but getting the legal permission to get the data is the same.
 
westrock2000 said:
From the aspect of using your data to provide a service, there is not much difference. What they do with the data may be different, but getting the legal permission to get the data is the same.
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Which is the whole point. (bolded)
 
If I had a dollar for everyone who won't use Windows 10 because of telemetry that they can turn off, but uses an Oculus Rift with this TOS...

I might be able to buy them back some of their lost dignity.
 
CreatedTheMultiverse said:
Then again them making these TOS's so long and complex that 99.9% of people never actually read through them is their goal to begin with.
Click to expand...

Totally agree that your average TOS is too long and hard to understand... However, the majority of the time it's not the company being a dickhead, it's the company protecting itself from dickhead blood-sucking lawyers.
 
westrock2000 said:
Look, if you read that exact same article except replaced the word Oculus with Steam, it wouldn't seem so bad all the sudden.

Steam knows what you play, it knows when you play it, it stores your save games and achievements in a cloud and it tries to sell you things based on various triggers. The only way this is possible is if they are "tracking" you.

The only one that really sounded shady (on the surface) was


But there is that catch "through the Services", which means there is some type of service that will probably act as a hub or community and allow people users and developers to interact. It does not mean that anyone who makes a program that uses the Rift automatically surrenders all rights to Oculus. You can still sell your games, you can still sell your 3D medical software. Oculus/Facebook/Zuckerberg is not going to come take it from you.

And even then, this could be like an Xbox Live thing. Where you submit a game to Xbox Live and you sell it, but Microsoft reserves the right to give it away for free for a month for Gold Games. If you don't like that, then don't sell it on Live Marketplace.
Click to expand...

Yeah, but the difference is, I'm not paying hundreds of dollars to use Steam.
 
Sorry, but that is a pretty silly comment.

You pay "hundreds of dollars" buying games on Steam, which is what is being compared here. Oculus will also be selling you software, just like Steam. Tracking what you buy and play, just like Steam. And marketing you stuff, just like Steam.

Hardware has nothing to do with it. The Rift Hardware is not where Oculus is making money. It will be the software cuts through the Oculus store where they make money. Just like, you guessed.. Steam.

Saying that you are already paying them hundreds of dollars already is about the same as saying you've already paid hundreds of dollars for your computer monitor and steam / the web has no right to advertise stuff to you.
 
ShamisOMally said:
Buying the rift is utterly pointless

You're buying basically an expensive head mounted monitor, except it will only allow you to play back content they approve of

Its like buying Sony headphones that will only play Sony BMG songs
Click to expand...

All you're doing when you buy an Xbox is an expensive entry level PC except it will only allow you to play back content they approve of.
 
ShamisOMally said:
Buying the rift is utterly pointless

You're buying basically an expensive head mounted monitor, except it will only allow you to play back content they approve of

Its like buying Sony headphones that will only play Sony BMG songs

I knew the sec Oculus went to facebook it would stop being open source, and today's the day
Click to expand...
Why the hell does this FUD keep coming back up? I think what you mean is the Oculus Rift will only play content they approve of THROUGH THEIR STORE. You can go fire up Steam VR and play their games, or any 3rd party VR game, etc. whether Facebook approves it or not. You're making it sound like the Rift can ONLY play content through their store. You think Half-Life 2 in VR suddenly stops working on the Rift now that the CV1 is out? I'm not defending Facebook's actions in any way, but what you're saying is completely false.
 
I wont get it for ages, plenty of time to cancel if needed.
If you dont pre-order you cant have one for even longer!
(when I placed the order it didnt mention pre-order, it said "in stock", but it clearly is a pre-order)

Although I'm happy Oculus had such large delays lol.
 
Im all for privacy, but im still wondering how this affects me directly.
 
WhoaEagleRay said:
I imagine the movement data is useful for improving the experience. I wouldn't think twice about sharing it.
Click to expand...

WhoaEagleRay:s timeline: Rapid hand movements while watching hot nurses going wild 3 on Rift.
 
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